Iranian Diplomats Oppose Saudis’ Destructive Move at OIC Meeting

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif voiced Tehran’s opposition to Saudi Arabia’s effort to include statements against Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement in the draft declaration of the Summit of Islamic states.

More than 30 leaders and heads of states will partake in the 13th summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul, Turkey, on Thursday and Friday.

Zarif said Wednesday that Riyadh’s efforts for the inclusion of four paragraphs in the draft declaration against Iran and one more against Hezbollah were against the “spirit of Islamic solidarity”.

He said the Saudi move can only serve the interests of the Israeli regime, a report by IRNA said on Wednesday.

The draft was prepared during an expert-level OIC meeting in February in the Saudi port city of Jaddah, which the Iranian officials could not attend as they were denied visas by Riyadh.

Zarif warned that attempts made by the Saudis to use the OIC mechanism to achieve their political goals resemble efforts by the former regime of Iraq’s Saddam Hussein against Iran during the organization’s meeting at the time of Iraq’s imposed war against Iran in the 1980s.

The Iranian foreign minister stated that members of the OIC should “learn the lesson” from those experiences and refrain from adopting “failed policies”.

The Iranian top diplomat, however, noted that despite “destructive efforts” by some OIC members, Iran has always sought improved relations with the neighboring countries.